The present invention relates to an absorbent article designed for absorbing aqueous solutions, more particularly physiological excretions and secretions. More particularly, this invention relates to an absorbent article having an absorbent inner layer comprising a coated expanded grain composition. The absorbent article comprises materials which have excellent absorbent properties and are biodegradable.
Disposal of soiled non-biodegradable diapers and catamenial devices, which give out offensive smells and harbor pathogenic organisms, contribute to environmental pollution. Further, disposal of these soiled items contribute to the accumulation of garbage. Landfills and other means of garbage disposal can no longer cope with the ever-increasing amounts of garbage that accumulate as the number of disposables used in our society grows. For these reasons, a non-biodegradable disposable product is undesirable if a biodegradable product having similar properties is available.
Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide a disposable absorbent article comprising a superabsorbent material which is biodegradable, unlike the acrylate absorbent materials used in the prior art. It is a feature of this invention that the absorbent material is a coated expanded grain composition. It is another feature of this invention that the article is constructed as a first outer layer permeable to aqueous solutions, an absorbent inner layer, and a second outer layer, with the absorbent layer residing between the outer layers. Further, because the absorbent material dissolves easily, it will be carried away with ease if disposed of directly into a flush toilet or wastewater system.
Another object of this invention is to provide a method of making a disposable absorbent article using inexpensive materials, which can be mass-produced at low cost.